Playing IPL dream come true: Shivam Sharma

Shivam Sharma

After his impressive debut in the Indian Premier League, where he picked up the two wickets of Yuvraj Singh and Albie Morkel to help his team seal the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab off-spinner Shivam Sharma has said that it was a dream come true moment for him.

Shivam said: “IPL is a platform from where you can go on and represent India. It was my dream to play in this T20 league. I had gone to see an IPL game with my brother last year and told him about my wish.”

On how he trapped Yuvraj, who was caught at first slip by a well-flighted delivery that turned away after pitching on the off-stump line, the 20-year-old said: “We planned to attack Yuvraj. He is the kind of player who can demolish any bowling attack if he gets going. So it’s important to get him early. And that’s the reason I did keep a slip for him as advised by our think-tank.”

Shivam said that he hasn’t yet learnt to bowl a doosra but can bowl a carrom delivery, one which has already been decoded by his Kings XI teammate Glenn Maxwell. He said: “I don’t have the doosra, but I do have the carom ball. I bowl the carrom ball a lot in the nets, but (Glenn) Maxwell has decoded my carom ball delivery with his reverse sweeps. So, one learns a lot while bowling to him in the nets, you grow as a T20 bowler.”

Shivam is a fan of both the Indian senior off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. Harbhajan is his all-time favourite, though. He said: “Harbhajan Singh is my all-time favourite though I cannot bowl the doosra like him. I also like Ashwin a lot.”